


one. sleepy kisses

by carentans



Series: a mighty ocean or gentle kiss [1]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Emerging After Months to Write the Same Fic Again and Again, Everyone Is a Good Dad, Everyone is Gay dw, George is A Master Babysitter, M/M, Mentions of Baberoe and Winnix, Too Bad x Enjoy Babes, Uh Oh! Another Kid Fic!, Warning! Mental Images of Toye With Small Baby, that's it that's the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:21:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26769427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carentans/pseuds/carentans
Summary: Sometimes, George has to babysit, and sometimes, George likes to nap. They don't always mix.
Relationships: George Luz/Joseph Toye
Series: a mighty ocean or gentle kiss [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951384
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	one. sleepy kisses

**Author's Note:**

> wow i can't believe i'm back after all this time  
> AND with the same fic i've written again and again
> 
> ... like i feel like this is just another part of the 5+1 kidfic but eh  
> i GUESS imma do a bunch of fluffy oneshots so get ready

Somehow, the two of them had become the designated babysitters when schedules got too full or the parents were desperate for a much needed vacation. 

Somehow. 

George could count the times - on both hands! - various members of their friend group had disparaged the thought of his child-watching abilities. He was too much, too... _George_ _Luz_ -y to be responsible for a tiny human. Sure, maybe they could probably count on him to alleviate fussy behaviors, but surely, he couldn’t handle the feeding and the changing and the _responsibility._

Yet, no one seemed to believe him when he argued, that of the group, he was  _ positive _ he had the most child-rearing experience. None of his siblings marched their chubby baby bodies out an open window or tried their hands (or forks) at being an electrician. 

Not to mention, his  _ George Luz _ -ness was exactly why he was so adept. His friends may view him as the over-eager court jester looking for any opportunity to misbehave, and while that wasn’t  _ not _ true, he could also handle three kids under four  _ and _ a dog, thank you very much. 

But time carried on, and the whole friend group got older, got married, found financial stability or something, and ended up wanting a little tots of their own. 

George couldn’t quite say he was the same guy he was in university - no more bright red drinks and their subsequent drunken and teary goodbye monologues from a hospital bed where he was certain he was inches from death. 

He’d grown up, too... a little, at least. 

And he was married, and Joe hadn’t threatened divorce  _ once _ , so George figured that was as good and mature as buying his own house in the suburbs and having those two-point-seven children. 

The friend group’s little tots were introduced to the world in their own due time, and George  _ revelled  _ in that baby’s newfound joy of their newest favorite person. One by one, their friends had to eat their words, recognizing that George  _ did _ know a thing or two about babies, and  _ dammit, Luz, stop trying to steal the kid! She ain’t yours! _

Luckily, Joe seemed to have a bit of a knack around babies, too, even if he’d never held a baby before Lip eased his little bundle of joy into his unsuspecting arms. He possessed that  _ something _ that had babies in restaurants staring from high chairs and nieces and nephews clinging to his limbs, oblivious to the fighter’s spirit that lingered just below the surface. 

(Well, George supposed, he could agree with the babies on that, too, because Joe  _ did _ have that something that had him wanting more. Wanting so much more that he managed to put a ring on it and had him bringing up having a baby of their own at least once a week.) 

They had children in the home often enough, now that their friends capitalized on George’s baby skills to maximize their own personal time while letting the baby socialize away from home. 

(“Yeah. ‘Socialize.’” George muttered sarcastically. “Babe, she’s six months old and spends at least an hour slobbering on Joe. I’ll make sure to let her know she spent more time ‘socializing’ with us than her own parents,” George had huffed, ignoring Babe and Gene’s scandalized looks. “Now, come on, sweet thing, let us go sit the baby and enlighten each other on today’s news.”)

Regardless of his dramatizations about the burden of nannying, George really didn’t mind it. Sometimes,  _ he’d _ call someone up and insist they took the afternoon off just so he could have a baby companion while he shopped for groceries or needed to work from home. 

So when a desperate and apologetic Dick shuffled a little Selene Winters into his arms rambling on about some last minute appointment and blah blah blah, George hardly felt put out. 

George just lifted up Selene’s little hand and told her, “Tell Dada goodbye. Tell Dada you’re just in time for happy hour and to not wait up tonight.” 

Dick looked a little pained at just the thought of his daughter enjoying a two dollar shot, but Selene happily babbled along with George’s words, so he was at least placated by her cheerful mood. 

He promised to call once he got more information on how long he’d be, but it was George’s turn to wave him off, throwing assurances after him as he sheepishly retreated to the elevator. 

“C’mon, Lini, I was  _ just _ about to turn on  _ Drag Race _ , so you’ve made perfect time,” George told her. “I’ve got about a thousand episodes to catch up on, and it seems like we’ve got all the time in the universe.”

Selene, her dark hair falling out of the braided pigtails on either side of her face, blinked sleepily to his warm hospitality. Then, she gave a big yawn, and leaned heavily against him, the change of locale no match for her daily scheduled nap. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to wake you up if anything scandalous happens,” George promised. 

##

There he was, atop a big comfy cloud, an angel or maybe just there to chill, observing the heavenly throwdown happening before him. Numerous deities mingled near the edges of the holy stage, other angels expertly staying afloat for every second of the action. Thunder crackled with each blow, the two royally upset sky-dwellers bickering between the action.

Honestly, George wished they had a celestial refreshment service because nothing got him craving a big bowl of popcorn like a catty argument. 

The reason behind this blessed rumble was lost on him, but he could care less; he loved being witness to drama of any kind, and if this was what Heaven was like, well then just sign him up -

“Wha?” George stumbled awake, disappointed to be so suddenly thrown back to Earth - and into his little apartment’s living room at that. 

In the following few seconds, he jerked upright, hands clutching at his chest. Selene had gone missing from where she napped against him, and it was all his fault, since he’d apparently dozed off as well. 

“The baby!” He all but shouted, his silly dream suddenly dimming into a living nightmare. 

Selene wasn’t quite old enough to toddle around, hands searching for anything and everything to stick in her mouth, but she was rather adept at crawling. There was no telling the sort of things that hid on the floor, his anxiety over-panicked him, as if Joe and George’s apartment floor was regularly filled with a thousand choking hazards. Maybe he’d even left the cabinet under the sink open, allowing for easy access to the cleaning supplies, or maybe she’d figured out how to climb on a chair and get onto the counter and into the sink where sharp, dirty dishes awaited dangerously.

“It’s okay, Georgie. She’s right here,” the voice above him reassured. 

George was sure that his heart could still race right out of his chest, but he did feel remarkably calmer to see Joe cuddling the still sleeping child. 

At least, it seemed, Selene had inherited the Nixon ability to sleep just about anywhere. She had a little smile on her face like she was proud of the panic she had just caused George (and if not that, she was probably smiling plotting some sort of trouble to cause later on). 

“Jesus,” George sighed, slouching back down on the couch. He clicked the pause button on the remote, stopping the bickering on screen. The thought of a showdown no longer appealed to him; the very idea of having to go hand-to-hand with Dick  _ or _ Nixon due to not properly babysitting said baby was less than exciting.

“You know, I  _ would _ say ‘I told you so,’ but I’m not one to brag,” Joe said. 

George had scolded him a dozen times before, that no matter how cute it was to see a baby asleep on his sleeping husband, it just wasn’t a good idea with someone else’s child. Especially when those someone else’s were, usually, ready to fight at a moment’s notice and would heartily jump to action if their child needed defending. There were just too many ifs to falling asleep with a kid around, and even more so now that the kids weren’t quite babies anymore.

“Shut up,” he replied drearily. “I didn’t mean to. You just know how the sound of a good argument puts me right to sleep.” 

Joe hummed his agreement, and carefully lowered himself onto the floor near the couch. 

“I didn’t even get to see who won,” he pouted. Joe, used to George’s common and often convoluted thoughts, nodded along as if he knew or cared about the heavenly boxing match George had missed out on. “You had the baby. You didn’t need to wake me.” 

He reached out, hand combing through Joe’s hair, letting him rest his head against the cushions. A gentle pause settled between them.

Joe was the only person he could stand to be quiet with. George never felt like he had to fill up the space like he did everywhere else; sometimes, it could just be  _ them _ , and that was more than enough to feel satisfied. 

It was peaceful, enough to let him settle down from his scare, and the general tiredness from his day spent on the phone, arguing needlessly with coworkers and clients alike seeped back into his bones. Adding that into the few hours of brain-numbing television he had managed, sleep could come again far too easily, and he had to fend off that lingering need to nap. 

“Didn’t know I needed a reason to wake my husband,” Joe said, tilting his head back just a bit more to glance at George. 

“You just wanted a kiss from me.” 

Joe’s quiet answered his accusation. If anyone could translate Joe’s speechlessness, it had to be George, who seemed to have all the words to fill in those blanks. 

“Just like I’m some common whore! Here I am spending the day cooking and cleaning and tending to the baby, and you just want me for my body,” he bemoaned. 

Joe didn’t even bother indulging him since he knew George had only done one of those three tasks, and he ended up falling asleep in the middle of it.

“Plus, it hasn’t even been that long,” George said haughtily. “Didn’t you just get a kiss from me this morning?” 

“Didn’t you fit in a nap this morning?” Joe shot back. 

George huffed, pulling at Joe’s hair since it seemed more effective and just as childish as sticking his tongue out at him. 

He liked to pretend that their morning routine always went smoothly - Joe waking up before god and the sun, and George blearily sitting up, waiting for his goodbye kiss before sneaking in a few more winks before his alarm went off for good.

“- just think you’re cute when you’re tired.” Joe said, much sweeter now, and George realized it was a possibility he was drifting in that gray area between awake and dreamland. 

“Uh huh. Well,” he began, scrambling to pull together his usual George Luz flare, “then do something about it, you big lug,” he flirted, knowing he’d get an endeared eyeroll from said big lug. 

“Maybe you should head off to the bedroom instead. I can play with Selene out here, and let you finish up that dream,” Joe suggested, but George was quick to drop his hand, clutching onto his shirt to keep him grounded. 

“No, I’m up,” he protested, but his brain was rather slow on the uptake, and he’d just need a few more minutes to restart. “C’mere, I’m up,” he promised. 

“George - wait - the baby!” Joe protested, trying to maneuver himself around without waking Selene while also fending off George’s greedy hands trying to pull him on the couch. “Get off - I’m already holding one damn baby -” 

The wait felt like an aching eternity, and George suddenly wished their couch was double in size. They both knew the ridiculousness of attempting to share a couch, but at this time, Joe was the most capable of making the rational decision on where to sit and pull George along. 

“Joe -” he whined.

“Give me a second,” Joe repeated, having gotten up from his sitting position but hadn’t quite figured out to squeeze between George and the couch with George laying there like a pallet of bricks. “Maybe this will help,” he muttered. 

He leaned in for a kiss, the awkward angle be damned. 

Even the simplest of kisses were exciting, like sweet sparks that powered his heart and only seemed to get better with time. They’d probably shared thousands of kisses, kisses of all sorts, and George was sure he, his body and his brain and his heart, could recognize them all, even if a good handful of them were offered when he was heavy-eyed and half awake. 

George replied with a happy noise against his lips and was distracted enough that Joe could fight his way onto the couch the moment they pulled away. 

“With the baby in the room?” George teased, scandalized like a blushing virgin when greeted with Joe’s short kiss. 

“Can you just lay down and go to fuck back to sleep?” Joe asked. 

“No - wait,” George mumbled, languidly pushing himself up, a good bit like a cat stretching from its nap in the sun. 

He leaned up, just enough, that he could steal another kiss from Joe. 

Joe fished the remote away from where it’s gotten squashed down in the cushions while George settled down, head comfortably in his husband’s lap. Joe had no problem spending his evening being cuddled upon by his friends’ baby and his own, much larger baby.

“Better now that you’ve gotten your kiss?” George asked playfully as Joe perused the channel guide.

“I sure hope Selene wakes you up in the middle of your dream,” he threatened. 

“Yeah, yeah,” George shrugged it off. 

When the time came that the baby needed a bit of attention, George wouldn’t be one to slack off, and they both knew it. 

Between the quiet sounds of televised home renovation, Joe rocked Selene very gently in his arms. “Yeah, you just sleep tight, baby,” he whispered, leaving a little kiss atop her head. 

So, even though it wasn’t quite directed at him, George did. 

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. beep boop whoops
> 
> 2\. It really is just fluff, and I'm not sorry. 
> 
> 3\. Not representational of the real men. Solely based off the portrayals from the HBO series.
> 
> 4\. Kinda edited. Sometimes unrealistic.
> 
> 5\. Title credit and Kiss-tober prompt list credit to Wally.
> 
> 5.5. Selene's name credit to Emilia aka @ we’re-supposed-to-be-surrounded on Tumblr who suggested it when I said "Quick! Give me a name!" 
> 
> 6\. Follow me on tumblr @ capnixons .


End file.
